Harold W. Attridge, dean of Yale Divinity School and Lillian Claus Professor of New Testament, will begin a second five-year term as dean effective July 1, 2007. In a May 8 letter to the Divinity School community announcing the reappointment of Attridge, Yale President Richard C. Levin said, “The Divinity School and the University are fortunate to have the services of such an outstanding leader." >Go to Story

Yale University will celebrate the life and service of the Rev. William Sloane Coffin, Jr. at a memorial service scheduled for 2 p.m., May 27 at Battell Chapel. The Divinity School has established a scholarship fund in his honor, The William Sloane Coffin, Jr. Scholarship. >Go to story

The first William Sloane Coffin, Jr. Scholar has been selected--Rahiel Tesfamariam, who spent her early childhood in war-torn Eritrea. Recipients of the Coffin Scholarship are students who exhibit Coffin's “prophetic leadership, his passion for justice, and his critical theological interpretations of the contemporary social and political scene.”
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Jaroslav Pelikan, whose first position at Yale was as the Titus Street Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Yale Divinity School, died May 13 at his home in Hamden, CT after a long battle with cancer.
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A joint meeting between the advisory boards of the Divinity and Forestry Schools concluded with a broad-ranging discussion of the practical need and moral necessity of deeper cooperation between believers and environmentalists.
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Inocencio “Chencho” Alas, the Salvadoran peace activist, visited YDS in September. Rob Fisher '98 B.A., '05 M.Div., met Chencho last summer during a trip to El Salvador with other clergy. Here he reflects on the man and his mission.
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In a continuing effort to reach out to neighborhood churches serving minority communities, Yale Divinity School hosted a conference in mid-May devoted to some of the thorniest issues facing African-American Christians. >Go to story

Registration for Summer Term at Sterling Divinity Quadrangle, June 5-23, has been extended to May 31. Several weeklong courses are particularly timely in light of ongoing conflicts around the world and within church settings, such as Christians and Jews in Conversation and Is War Ever Ethical?. Kristen Leslie, who was much in the news in 2005 for her work on religious intolerance at the Air Force Academy, will be teaching a course on pastoral care in small groups. Another course, Judaism in the Time of Jesus, is being taught by Jeremy Hultin, who was a leader of the YDS travel seminar to Israel-Palestine during winter break. >Go to Summerterm Website.

On April 24, a Peace Pole came to YDS, proclaiming May Peace Prevail on Earth in many different languages, linking the YDS community with communities around the world that have planted Peace Poles. In Dear Theo, a YDS student publication, more than one dozen members of the community expressed their thoughts about the pole. >Go to story

Yale Divinity School will host a June 9-11 gathering for emerging African-American scholars in religion, biblical studies and theology who are recipients of The Fund for Theological Education's doctoral fellowships. Among the faculty serving at the conference will be YDS's own Emilie M. Townes and Yolanda Y. Smith.

Convocation and Reunions 2006 will be celebrated Oct. 9-12 on Sterling Divinity Quadrangle. Featured lecturers include Thomas G. Long, Bandy Professor of Preaching, Emory University (Lyman Beecher Lectures) and John P. Meier, William K. Warren Professor of Theology, University of Notre Dame (Kent Shaffer Lectures). Reunion classes include 1951, 1956 and 1981. Cluster reunions will be held for 1970-72 and 1990-92. >Go to Convocation 2006

Dean Harry Attridge was among the religious leaders in attendance at a May 3 gathering in New Haven designed to foster dialogue across religious and ethnic lines. YDS sponsored a table at the gathering. >Go to Story

A Gift of a Lifetime
Many alumni and friends have chosen to support the Divinity School through "planned gifts,” oftentimes through donations that establish permanent legacies that remain a testament to the donor's devotion and generosity. Planned gifts most frequently take the form of charitable gift annuities and bequests. Further information on planned giving to Yale is available at http://www.yale.edu/development/waysofgiving/planned.html Financial Aid for Students

Annual gifts to the Yale Divinity School Annual Fund are directed to the School's most valuable asset—the students. In 2004-05 YDS was able to provide partial scholarships to 60 students, and the goal for 2005-06 is 65 students.